Your Pigskins and Ponies Picks for Dec. 5-7

Welcome to ABR’s Pigskins and Ponies column, where winners play!
Horse racing is my means to an end, and I love the sport like no other, but I admit it, like most of you, on a Sunday afternoon in the fall, it’s hard to pull me away from my couch … and NFL RedZone.
I have a wanted sign in Las Vegas and am feared by fantasy football mavens nationwide, but when it comes to the college game, I choose to punt.
That’s where Derek Cooley comes in. The dude is a loaded gun of university knowledge.
Let’s kick off the football, spring the horses from the gate and pad our bankrolls!
**Lines as of Wednesday Night from scoresandodds.com**
College Pigskins – by Derek Cooley
We are on a roll. Five up, one down this time around. I just can’t seem to figure out those teams from Georgia …
All of our favorites won, which included three road favorites in Iowa, Northwestern and Ohio State. Home favorite TCU held serve, and even though Notre Dame didn’t win (tiny violin sound), they covered! And THAT my friends, is what’s important!
We are 30-12 ATS in the last seven weeks and we hope to add even a little more gas to the fire on Championship Saturday.
WEEK 14
American Athletic Championship
(22) Temple +6 at (19) Houston (Saturday, noon ET, ABC)
Houston is coming off of a great win at home against Navy to secure this home matchup against the Temple Owls. In my opinion, Temple has just seen better teams and seen better competition throughout the year. That kind of experience matters in conference championship games, especially a true road game turned conference championship game. The Owls cover in Houston.
Pac 12 Championship
(7) Stanford -4 at (20) USC (Saturday, 7:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
This Pac12 Championship means a lot more to Stanford than it does to USC, who will be trying to play spoiler. Obviously, if Stanford has ANY chance to make the playoff — and I don’t think they will make the playoff — it MUST win this game. The Trojans will play inspired, with Clay Helton being named as the full-time USC head football coach, but this game will be won by Christian McCaffrey on the field, in the fourth quarter. I was extremely close to taking the Trojans with the points, but Santa Clara will be kind to the Cardinal as they win by a TD. 
SEC Championship
(2) Alabama -17.5 at (18) Florida (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS)
Alabama is just playing football beyond any level Florida has reached this year. Alabama is trending way upward, while the Gators have backed into this thing to represent a weak SEC East. Alabama will be serving up Gator on a stick. The Tide ROLLS into the College Football Playoffs.
ACC Championship
(1) Clemson -4.5 at (10) North Carolina (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC)
Clemson has not come this far during this magical ride of a season to lose the ACC Championship game to North Carolina. Yes, UNC has not lost since Week 1 to the other Carolina, but loss number two comes Saturday evening. Deshaun Watson has another outstanding performance and Clemson rides into the College Football Playoff with a pretty easy win over the Tar Heels.
BIG 10 Championship
(4) Iowa +3.5 at (5) Michigan State (Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET, FOX)
The Iowa Hawkeyes remind me of Michigan State of two years ago, when they defeated Ohio State in the B1G Championship game behind a first-year starter at QB, Connor Cook, a great and underrated rushing attack, led by Jeremy Langford, and a stout defense. Iowa isn’t quite as good, especially on defense, as that MSU ball club turned out to be, but lucky for Iowa, neither is this year’s MSU team. C.J. Boatyard continues to do his thing when it matters the most, and that defense makes big plays when big plays are need. Bad news for Iowa? Michigan State is playing its best football of the season by far, with a stunning victory at Ohio State followed by a shellacking of Penn State to secure the B1G East division. This game will be decided by a field goal, therefore Iowa covers.
Last Week: 5-1
Season Total: 45-34-1 (.570)
Pro Pigskins – by Joe Kristufek
It was a positive week.
Both of our underdogs won outright as Minnesota handled Atlanta and Denver launched a successful comeback to end New England’s undefeated season.
In the battle of two unreliable teams, Washington fended off a late bid by the New York Giants.
Last week: 2-1
Season Total: 31-33-3 (.484)
Week 13
Sunday, Dec. 5
Seattle Seahawks PK at Minnesota Vikings
Did the loss of TE Jimmy Graham actually help the Seahawks offense? They opened it up big time last week against the Steelers, with QB Russell Wilson enjoying his best game of the season. The defense has underperformed most of the year, but we know what the Seahawks are capable of. The Vikings are one of the league’s most-improved teams, but Sunday will provide one of their biggest tests to date.
RICHARD SHERMAN ANCHORS A TOUGH SEAHAWKS DEFENSE

"Richard Sherman 2015" by Mike Morris - Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Chicago Bears -7 vs. San Francisco 49ers
Who would have guessed that this late in the season the Bears would be a touchdown favorite against anybody? Surprisingly enough, the best may still be yet to come. With the return of TE Martellus Bennett, the offense is getting closer to full strength and the young defense seems to be getting better by the week. Let’s not forget about the added incentive of Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio facing his old team.
Carolina Panthers -7 at New Orleans Saints
The Panthers have been called the “worst 11-0 team in NFL history.” The great thing about that is, they feel like they still have something to prove. They’ve made a believer out of me. The Saints have lost three straight against much lesser teams. QB Drew Brees isn’t the same, the defense is bad and they’re not nearly the unbeatable force they used to be at home. They’re headed for an offseason demolition.
CAM NEWTON HAS THE PANTHERS ROLLING

"Cam Newton 2014" by Keith Allison - Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Monday, Dec. 6
Dallas Cowboys +4.5 at Washington Redskins
The Cowboys got crushed on Thanksgiving, Tony Romo is out again and the Redskins have been hot of late, especially at home. The arrow points toward Washington, right? Not so fast. The Cowboys still have a glimmer of hope and they will play hard. The Redskins are feeling good about themselves right now, but in reality, they were fortunate to win last week.
Ponies – by Joe Kristufek
Not much to be thankful for last weekend.
Carina Mia was the highlight. In winning the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes, she stamped herself an early favorite for the Kentucky Oaks.
Gun Runner had the lead at the top of the stretch of a super tough edition of the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, but he couldn’t keep up late with Airoforce, Mor Spirit and Mo Tom and settled for fourth.
Last week: 5-1-1-0 ($2 WPS * $30 wagered * $19.00 returned)
Season Total: 43-6-7-8 ($2 WPS * $258 wagered * $154.40 returned = $3.61)
Saturday, Dec. 5
Gulfstream Park – Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Race 8 – Claiming Crown Canterbury Stakes
#6 All Star Red (morning-line odds, TBD)
When he debuted at Tampa Bay Downs in March, this 3-year-old’s talent was misevaluated. Entered for a $25,000 claiming tag, he won for fun and he’s shown proven ability on all surfaces since. He changed hands with this race in the plan. With lots of rain in the forecast, a sloppy track is very likely and it could work in his favor.
Race 11 – Claiming Crown Jewel Stakes
#14 Mal Guapo (morning-line odds, TBD)
The winner of three straight since the Brad Cox claim, this veteran son of Into Mischief has his work cut out for him. It’s a tough race to begin with and post-position 14 makes his life a lot tougher. That being said, he’s seriously good right now, the distance suits him better than most of the others in the race and he ran one of his best races in the slop.
Hawthorne Race Course – Stickney, Ill.
Race 7 – Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante Stakes
#9 Diamondette (morning-line odds, 10-1)
After struggling on a synthetic surface in her career debut, this well-bred daughter of Mineshaft improved immensely in her second try, closing from well off the pace to be third on grass. That two-turn experience should bode well here, and she’s trained forwardly between starts.
#6 Partay (morning line odds, 7-2)
The only bad race in this gal’s career came on Arlington’s synthetic Polytrack surface. She’s progressed nicely on dirt and has had this race targeted all along. She prepped with a solid sprint second and has posted a sharp workout since.